![]() Photo: Frontline By: Saira Canales There are many violent things happening in Syria. The most recent event was a shooting that ended up taking the lives of 19 people, 12 of which were children. Another last major catastrophe that took place was when two air strikes were taken because of a rescue group known as the White Helmets. When this happened, not much was said or done. After all, what can be done? There are video footages of the strikes and attacks on both occasions. The video images contained things that a child should never have to endure. It seems as if the Syrian government is at fault for the air strikes, because they are the only people who would have access to those missiles. The government defended themselves, saying they had no other choice because they are trying to get rid of the terrorism and try to regain control in Syria. People refuse to believe this side of the story because there are ways this can be avoided, along with the amount of casualties that took place. Over 34 deaths have occurred in Northern Syria in the past 4 weeks alone. Something of a civil war has been going on in Syria since 2011, killing over 400,000 people. The deaths of children ages 3-15 are rising more and more each day. If they are not killed, then they are taken to be a part of a terrorist group at such a young age. Many Syrians have tried to leave, but it’s very difficult when they are forced to stay. Of course, that doesn’t stop them from trying. Many parents are risking their lives for the future of their children. Things may seem bleak and the situation may look as if it is just getting worse and worse, but there are organizations that are willing to help them in any way that they can. One such organization is unicef USA. They provide clean water, vaccines, and education for those who do not have access to these necessities. They are not the only ones who do this. There is no way we can stop this war from happening, but there are ways we can help.
0 Comments
![]() Photo: Getty Images By: Inez Jaime Peru and U.S are finalizing a deal to promote American investments in the South American country as an initiative to counter Chinese support on the region. In 2018, the U.S had launched a campaign called “Growth in Americas” as a way to invest in energy in Latin America after China had invited the countries in the region to join China's global Belt and Road Initiative. This would be considered to be the first time we would see this in history. Back in the 19th century, Chinese were known to immigrate to Peru in the hopes of leading a better life. The United States had signed memorandums of understanding with the campaign and framework with the Latin American countries to join it. These memorandums included Chile, Jamaica, Panama, and Peru. Peru’s foreign ministry stated, “The Trump Administration is interested in balancing the Chinese influence in the region for some time.'' It also had been stated that Washington had taken initiative to join the campaign and evaluate the energy, the mines ministry, and the finance ministry. As we know, China had replaced the U.S as Peru’s top trading partner many years ago. They had their companies invest in projects such as this. These investments had been going on for such a long time. For example, on December 4, 1991, under the George H. W. Bush Administration, the U.S had enacted the Andean Trade Preference Act, which was to eliminate tariffs on a number of products from Latin American countries. Such as Peru, Bolivia, Columbia, and Ecuador. The objective of that tariff was to strengthen the legal industries in the countries. It had stopped for sometime but had started back up on October 31, 2002. This act had products exempted from tariffs that increased to 5,600 to 6,300 dollars. Unfortunately, this act had been set to expire on December 31, 2006, but again had been renewed a year later. As it has now been stated, this agreement is only talk for now, and has not been signed quite yet. Photo: Al Jazeera
By: Brianna Quinonez White Island, or Whakaari, a volcano located in the country of New Zealand, erupted on Monday, December 9th. The volcano is placed alone on an island, where tourists who wish to visit and climb the geographic wonder must go by boat. But the latest tourists, sadly, did not get to return home and share their experiences. According to CNN, “Citizens from New Zealand, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia were among those injured and missing following the explosion.” According to BBC, White Island is New Zealand’s most active volcano. Immediately it may sound bizarre why tourists would pay to go see an active volcano, but it should be noted that its last eruption was in the year 2001. The same source also confirms that while the island is privately owned, day tours and flights are a common occurrence. While this catastrophe has struck the hearts of millions since it made headlines in the news around the world, this event easily could have been prevented. GeoNet, a collaboration between the Earthquake Commission and GNS Science, has been sending out alerts since mid-November, as it was being recorded that the volcano’s volume of sulfur dioxide gas was increasing. It should be noted that volcanos naturally release sulfur dioxide gas into the atmosphere, but according to the NASA Earth Observatory, once sulfur dioxide is increasing, that’s practically a natural warning of an upcoming eruption. Since White Island is still not free from danger, first responders are still not allowed to get near the volcano. According to USA Today, at least 5 tourists were killed, since it was famously stated that tourists were climbing into the volcano right before it erupted for the first time in years. As for search and rescue crews reaching survivors, a team is forming. According to the Daily Mail UK, an “estimated 50 tourists were on or around the volcano crater.” As previously stated, 5 are confirmed dead. 18 were identified as injured, with an additional 20 people missing. Photo: Premium Times Nigeria
By: Brianna Quinonez Social media is now more popular than ever. According to Statista, in the year of 2018, 2.65 billion people were using social media worldwide. That’s about 45% of the world population. People have begun to use social media as a way of expressing themselves and spreading awareness for causes they genuinely care about. Of course, every good thing has a negative side effect. This was specifically addressed by the First Lady of Nigeria. Aisha Buhari, used her position as First Lady to advocate for stricter social media regulations, causing many of its country’s residents to erupt with anger and fury. The First Lady used China as a model on how Nigeria should copy its social media regulations. Many were quick to mock and protest against this woman. Nigerians throughout the country agreed that these new regulations she was pushing for would potentially have the ability to silence its residents if they wished to protest or show their disagreements about anything going on in their country politically or economically. The topic of regulating social media in Nigeria started after Senator Muhammadu Sani Musa proposed a bill that was called the All Progressive Congress. According to OkayAfrica, this bill was meant to “protect the country against the dissemination of hate speech and extremist ideologies online.” The bill called for various social media regulations. Although the bill was for good intentions for the country and for its people, the people of Nigeria were not convinced. Ironically, people from all over Nigeria flocked to Twitter to express their opinions on the matter. The factor they highlighted the most: how the First Lady decided to compare Nigeria to China. Several comments contended that if First Lady Aisha Buhari wanted to compare Nigeria and China, she must recognize that China is a communist country that is known for controlling its population of 1.5 billion people. Nigeria, on the other hand, is a democracy with a population of 180 million people. Although Nigeria’s population is significantly lower, they would be sorely mistaken in believing that controlling Nigerians would be easier if their government structure was anything other than a democracy. ![]() Photo: Reuters By: Saira Canales This weekend, about 20 people who were caught in the middle of cartel gunmen in Mexico were shot and killed. This doesn’t help the Mexican government currently, especially since current president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, made an outgoing statement about curbing gang violence in the country. Since the killings happened so soon in his presidency, protests have begun to help end the violence. On Saturday and Sunday, Coahuila government has killed at least 14 cartel gunmen. The killings happened because of a small gun fight that broke out. Four policemen were also shot and killed. This took place near the Texas border. Ever since this has been happening, doubt has sparked about the government's approach in handling these kinds of situations. There were even unarmed civilians that were caught in crossfire. Finally, after a while, their bodies were recovered and returned to their families. A number of gunmen that are suspected to be members of the Cartel of The Northeast from Tamaulipas State came in heavy army vehicles and released heavy fire on the Mayor of Villa Union. Seventeen vehicles were seized and sixty gunmen were reported to be part of the fight. This went on for about one and a half hours. As was stated before, many of the events that have been happening began to raise questions about Lopez Obrador’s presidency. Gunfights and “mini” cartel wars have become more and more frequent. Especially since this is his first year of presidency, he does not seem as reliable as people would like him to be. American president Donald Trump made several remarks about Mexico’s security and gang violence. Mexico responded with these remarks by President Lopez Obrador, saying they can handle their own security problems. “We won’t accept any kind of intervention, we’re a sovereign, free country,” the veteran leftist said in Mexico City’s Zocalo central square. This is just one of the many things that are being said and that are being thought of. U.S Attorney General William Barr is scheduled to fly out to Mexico to discuss cooperation on security so the drug violence will not cross our borders. |
StaffLearn more about the people behind the stories by clicking the button below. Archives
October 2023
Categories |